IRAQ: A SNUB THAT DEMONSTRATES THE SHI'IAH SUNNI SPLIT IN THE M.E.

In al-Maliki's snub, a sign of rising Shiite-Sunni tensions in the Mideast

CAIRO, Egypt: Iraq's Shiite leader was firm, his aides say — he would not talk to U.S. President George W. Bush with Jordan's Sunni king listening.

That startling show of mistrust in a neighbor led to a cancellation of a meeting between the three leaders Wednesday night and sent a cold shiver across the Middle East on Thursday, raising fears of a region-wide Sunni-Shiite split that the United States may be powerless to control and Iran could benefit from.

Few things would harm the region more than for Iraq's hostilities to infect other Arab countries, some of them U.S. allies already clutching at stability amid new signs of extremism.
It would also be detrimental to Iraq if its neighbors begin taking sides in its internal fight, intensifying the march toward all-out civil war.

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1) In al-Maliki's snub, a sign of rising Shiite-Sunni tensions in the Mideast